Dredging apparatus



l'. REAM.

DREDGING APPARATUS.

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1 ,323,6 1 l Patented Dec. 2, 1919. 5 SHEETS-SHEET l- @g-C Si Wn.

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DREDGING APPARATUS.

APPLacAloN msn luLY lz. :91s.

I U A il e//n/ Fim@ Patented D60. 2,1919.

5 snEETs-suae 2 52,9' emo J. REAM.

DREDGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED .LuLY|2.191a

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

J. REAM.

DREDGING APPARATUS.

APPLlcAloN min luLY 12, Isls.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BEAM, F JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

DREDGING APPARATUS.

Application filed July 12, 1913.

''o (5U trito/m t may concern:

De it known that l', Joris' BEAM, a citizen et' the United States, residing at Jackson-n ville, in the county of Duval and State of Florida, have invented new and useful linprovements in Dredging Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

YEhe present invention rela-tes to dredging apparatus and has for its object to provide mechanism for dredging and at thesaine time distributing such dredged `material in the form of levees or dikes on either or beth of the line of operation, my improved :apparatus being so designed as thatthe levres may be built in any desired width and of uniform height to the end that prac tic ly a finished levee results` and the ney for leveling, shaping and finishing is anuost entirely dene away with.

Furthermore, the dredger and levee buil/.ler which l shall describe ia detail here4 range oi wol-l; may be taken rare of without frequentrepositioning of the base or dredge be a floating one, as is i1 features of improvementu'ill be brought out in the disclosure hereinafter and infor-3 fully described, and that u" h l regard as nevel and of my intentie; will be particularly pointed out in the clannsr appended hereunto.

In order that the invention may be clear lo those skilled in the art, the follow ing de scription is to be taken in renneetion with ther drawings accompanying the saine. and in which oY-.c embodiment of my .invention is illustrated.

in said drawings:

Figure l is a view in sido eleation o` my g apparatus. with so much of a supg barge as will illustrate the manner of mounting the dredging apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevatiim of the apparatus. showing two unita, one of which (that on the left) is stripped of Vthe digging instrumentalities to more clearlyV thouv liz-e supporting perle 4tal and yoke.

Fig. 3 is; a de ail view of the` mechanism for operating the swiveling pedestal and its supported parts.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the folding conveyer frames.

Fig. 5 is a detail View of the digging buckets.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Serial No. 778,735.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail View of the digging buckets and their supports.

Fig. 7 an end view, partly in section, of the trough and distributing conveyers.

Figs. 8 and 9 are plan and side elevations respectively of the distributing conveyors.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the supporting frame for the distributing conveyers.

Fig. 11 is a side view of the central conveyer support.

Fig. 12 is a detail of the pedestal and yoke.

Figs. 13 and 14 are sectional views on lines a-a and b-b respectively of Fig. 12.

Fig. l5 is a side view of the cradle.

Fig. 16 is a plan view of a bucket, the blank from which it is made being shown in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings by numbers, like numbers indicating like parts in the several views, 10 denotes a suitable base on which the operative parts of the machine are supported, the base in the present instance being a barge which may be readily moved from place to place in water of comparatively shallow depth.

Mounted on the barge 10 is a main support for the digging and elevating instrumentalities consisting of a post or pedestal 11 pivotally mounted at its lower end in suitable bearings on the deck of the barge, said post 11 having at its upper end a yoke l2 and being provided at its top with a journal or pivot which rotates in a bearing in a frame 13 suitably supported from and guyed to the barge or other base.

The yoke 12 is preferably formed of continuous pieces of angle iron, as shown in Figs. 2, 12 and 13, two U-shaped angle irons 14, being assembled as shown, and seated in said angle irons are Trails 15, the whole being bolted together so as to form an absolutely rigid, although relatively light, structure.

lVhere this yoke is secured to the pedestal l preferably, as best shown in Fig. 12, continue the inner T-rail across the top of the pedestal as at 16, and extend the lower ends of the built-up yoke beam downwardly, as at 17, about the pedestal to which it is bolted or otherwise suitably secured, the upper end of the pedestal being preferably squared, or so designed in cross section, :is shown at 18 Fig. 14, as that it ts closely and securely in the receiving pocket thus formed at the lower end of the yoke.

The said pedestal is provided near its lower end with means for moving it angularly, said means comprising the frame 19 secured to the pedestal 11 and having at its outer end the drive rack 20 of arc shape. The said rack 20 is engaged by idler pinions 21 mounted on shafts journaled in a suitable framework 22, one of said pinion shafts, as 23, being driven from a suitable prime motor. Each of said pinions has a clutch face adapted to be engaged by a clutch 24- splined to the pinion shafts and having suitable operating levers. It will be obvious that when the clutch 24 on the power shaft 23 is engaged with the clutch face of pinion 21, said pinion 21 will be rotated, the rack 2() and its frame swung, and the pedestal 11 moved angularly relative to its support. In order that an opposite or reverse movement may be given to the pedestal I preferably provide a gear 25 on the power shaft 23, which engages a drive pinion 26 on the other pinion shaft so as to drive pinion 21 in an opposite direction from its fellow, and give a reverse movement to pedestal 1l.

Pivotally mounted in the yoke 12 is a cradle or bed 27 for the boom which carries the digging chain, said cradle being provided with anti-friction bearings 28 on which rests the boom 29 which may be of any suitable construction. The boom 29 has a slide plate 29a bolted to its framework, the ends 29b of which are turned downwardly, as shown in Figs. l and 15 to limit the traverse of the boom, and clamping plates 29c are secured to the cradle, which engage the plate 29a and hold the boom to its seat. Said boom is provided at either end with sprockets 30 over which the bucket chain 31 travels, this chain being provided with buckets 32 for digging, scooping, and elevating the material. The boom 29 is provided at one end with a slack takeup 33 of any suitable design so that the slack of the chain may be cared for, and near its upper end it has any suitable motor 34, conventionally shown as an electric motor, which, by suitable gearing, best shown in Fig. 1, drives the drum or sprocket 30 at the upper end of the boom to actuate the chain.

It will be seen that the boom with its bucket chain is so supported in the cradle carried by the pedestal that it may be swung angularly through a wide range when the pedestal 11 is moved through the mechanism just described, and in order that the boom may be raised and lowered to suit the needs of the work I preferably counterweight it by means of Weights suspended from a hawser passing over suitable sheaves 36 on the frame-work, with the bight of the hawser looped over sheaves 37 on the boom, as shown in Fig. l. A haul rope 38 passing around pulleys 39 on the boom extends rearwardly over pulleys 40 on the frame, the ends passing to any suitable take-up device or winding drum (not shown) on the deck of the barge, so that when draft is applied to this haul rope the boom will slide readily upward in the cradle, the counterbalancing weights and the anti-friction rollers carried.

by the cradle rendering the raising and lowering of the boom a comparatively easy matter.

In order that the boom may be maintained at its working angle in proper position for operating the digging buckets, its outer end is suspended from a swinging boom 41 adjusiably held by block and tackle 42, and by means of a block and tackle 43, coupled by the bail da to the bucket boom, suspends its outer working end in any desired position; a haul rope 45 being provided by means of which the bucket boom may be raised and lowered lo accommodate itself to different depths and to different angles at which it may be necessary to work.

Vith this construction it will be obvious that a wide rangt` is given to the bucket boom, for it may be placed at an angle where it will work close to the base or barge, and this angle may be altered as the work progrosses` until it is operating at its eXtreme range of movement in front of the barge. Since it is mounted on a swiwling pedestai it ma)Y be swung through a wide arc and work in any` of its angular positions7 thus providing for a wide range of work.

The buckets or diggers are formed individually and hinged together, as shown in F ig. 5, said buckets being formed of a single blank, as shown in dotted lines Fig. le, the side walls f6 and end walls li7 being bent up and riveted together in any suitable manner at the corners. Ireferalol)v the bottoms o the buckets will be provided with openings to permit the escape of water from the material being dredged and to prevent suction or vacuum when dumping. The rear wall 47 of the buckets is provided with a removable. digger blade 49 which is riveted in a seat 50 formed in said rear wall 47, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the upper edge of the digger blade Li9 being curved, as shown in Fig. 6, and the blade being concaved on its inner face to facilitate its entering the ground or material being scooped into the buckets. I preferably sharpen the side walls 46 at their upper edges' with an inward bevel as shown, so as to give a cutting edge to them and facilitate entrance of the buckets into the soil, and cutting of any embedded fibrous material.

Each bucket is provided with supporting rollers 5l which run upon suitable track- Way 52 on the boom, as shown in Fig. 6.

In order to insure the buckets on the lower run of the bucket chain being properly guided so that slack in the bucket chain Will not strike and interfere with the other parts of the` apparatus, I provide the guide-ways 53, the one at the upper end being relatively short so as to hold the chain away from the conveying mechanism after the buckets have dumped, while the lower guide is relatively long, and picks up the chain as soon as it has swung below the cradle and other projecting parts which it is necessary the lower run of the bucket chain should clear. The said guides have Haring mouths, as shown, to permit the rollers 51 of the buckets to leave and enter the guides readily, and to allow for variations in the line of travel of the bucket chain.

In rear of the supporting standards I provide a conveyer frame 54 above which is mounted a relatively wide trough having a high sloping rear side 55 preferably supported from the frame 13, as shown in 1, and a lower sloping front side 56, a conveyer 57 having upstanding sides which lap and embrace the sides 55 and 56 of the trough, forming the bottom of this trough. The width of said trough is designed to be such that it will receive material discharged by the buckets on the bucket boom at any angle at which the boom may be working, so that the buckets may work through their entire longitudinal and angular range and yet discharge the material into the trough, in which, owing to the inclined sides, the material will fall to the traveling conveyer' 57 and be carried in one or the other direction at right angles to the dredge or line of dredging.

The traveling conveyer is supported on suitable track ways 58, as shown in Fig. 7, the supporting wheels 59 mounted on suitable stub shafts on the conveyer running along the track-way. A sprocket shaft 60 having suitable sprockets 61 engages the conveyer to drive it, these sprocket wheels being driven in any suitable manner from a proper source of power, as, for example, the motor 61a, drive chain 61h, and sprocket or pulley 61C, conventionally shown in Fig. 2; and, by drive chains 62, 63, the power from the shaft 60 is carried to the outwardly eX- tending distributing conveyers, presently to be described, and all as shown in Fig. 7. In order that the conveyer 57 may be properly supported at all points, and not buckle under its load, I provide a central supporting arch 64, as best shown in Fig. 7, bolted to the conveyer frame proper, and having a series of overlapped, closely arranged, supporting rollers 65 which are placed centrally beneath the conveyer 57, and serve to support said conveyer and its load in proper position.

The supporting frame 54 for the traveling conveyer just described is secured to suitable supports 64 by means of a sliding pivot, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, so that the rear end of the conveyer frame and the trough conveyer 57 may be raised and lowered to move the conveyer frame and conveyer 57 from the substantially horizontal working position to the inclined position shown in Fig. 4, and preferably I provide a counterbalancing weight 64b, see Fig. 4 for this sliding pivotal connection between the conveyer frame and the slideways on the supports 64a.

The said trough is intended to be of a length substantially equal or little more than the width of the dredge or dredging operation. At one or both ends of the trough is the distributer or levee-building device, which comprises a series of distributing conveyers, the inner one 66 of which receives the material which falls from the trough conveyer 57' and carries this discharged material outwardly over the point where the levee is to be bullt. i

The levee building ion? t vers are all alike` except as io diixiensions, and comprise sprocket shafts 67 which drive the slat conveys is which are j'uefcralx-ly of the overlapped type shown in Fig. 9. The-.e slet onveyers 65 have no retaining sides so that part of the dredged niateriai wiii irai/lil"` fall from them and be depos' ,ed below, suit able guide wings 69 being pro ided te direct the material eiitwaililj; away from the sprockets, sprocket chains, and drive conriifetions. The distributing convey-fers are ii'iounied on supporting frames 7() of grailually decreasing widths`r as .shown in Fig. i', and are provided with supporting wheels 7i which run on tracks 72, as shown in Figs. 7. 8 and The distributing conveyors are preferabll.' sustained b v means of a haul rope 72 which passes over a suitable sheave on the upright 7 2, and thus to a guide pulley on the frans from which the haul rope led to anyY su able take-up or winding device (not shown) for raising and lowering the distribaiting; conveyer'.

It will be seen that as the mass of matriis delivered from the trough by the trout conveyer 57 to the inner distributing' conA vevcr 66, it will be iiiovel 4forward anda certain proportion oi' it will fall fron; the sidi` of the conveyer 66 to the levee below, 'alia speed of movement of the conveyer lx ,in ;t snch that it will be distributed in a practically even stream on either side throughmit the length of the conveyer.

Adjacent said conveyer 66 is a se ond mi:- veycr of sin'iilai censtruciion :,ltl\.ougli ot' less` width than the first conveyer and arranged on a somewhat lower level so that the conveyer 66 will dump its load onto a second conveyer 73, and it in turn will distributel the material in even lines to form the levee. The second conveyer 7 3 in turn delivers to a third conveyer, which is still narrower',

lill) and the even distribution ot' the material continues until it has all been distributed, and such distribution, owing to the narrowing or successively decreasing widths ot the conveyers as they progress outwardly will be regular and result in an evenly built levee.

In the practical carrying out oit my invention I contemplate mounting two or more digging and conveying instrumentalities on a barge, as shown in Fig. 2, so that as the apparatus proceeds the digging may be uni- Ytormly carried on through a wide range, and levees built simultaneously on eith xr sido of the line ot' dredging. s shown in vFig. the tivo digging instrumentalities and the conveying devices 'will be identical, and the convenus and distributers will rxlcnd outboard troni either side oit' the barge or support, so as to deliver and distribute the dredged material uniformly on each side, the trough conveyers and the distributing convevers moving in opposite directions so as te properly convey the material.

By reason of the wide range of action which is given to the bucket boom it will be seen that the digging instrumen ilities may ivorl: at different angles, and at different distances i' om the barge, and yet the conveyors which receive the material will carry it and distribute it uniformly and regularly as the barge is advanced.

kt is obvious, ot course, that thenumber ot convevers and their relative widths and .lengths to accomplish this distribution may be varied so as to meet the needs ot each. dredger, for the character ot the soil varies in different localities and proportions suitable for one operation would perhaps not be proper for operations in different soil-v: and while I have shown la particular construction in this disclosure, it will be understood that different mechanical expedicnts other than those shown may be substituted to attain the results aimed at without dcparting from the spirit of my invention.

I claim l. In a dredging and distributing apparatus and in combination, a receiving trough for dredged material having an open top and bottom, means angularly movable relative to said trough for depositing dredged material therein, an endless conveyer disposed eXteriorly of said. trough and provided with upturned sides to provide a movable trough bottom, and supplementary conveying and distributing means of progressively narrower Width to which said endless conveyer delivers.

2. In a dredging and distributing apparatus and in conbination, a hinged vertically swinging pivotally mounted dredging boom,

a trough for dredged material Wedge shaped in cross section and open at top and bottom, means angularly adjustable relative to said trough :tor depositing dredged material in said trough, an endless conveyer disposed exteriorly ol said trough and forming a movable bottoni therefor, the sides ot said conveyor being upturned to embrace the open bottom ot said trough, and supplementary conveying and distributing means to which said endless conveyer delivers.

In a dredging apparatus and in coinbination, a receiving trough for dredged material, means for depositing dredged material in said trough, an endless conveyor lor the material deposited in said trough hinged at one end to a suitable support, a slide way to guide the opposite end of said endless conveyor as it is raised or lowered, a supplementary coin-:eye r to receive the material from said endless conve-yer and hinged at one end to a suitable support, and means tor raising and lowering said supplementary conveyer to move it from an operative to an inoperative position.

l. In a dredging and distributing apparatus and in combination, a receiving trough l'or dredged material, an endless traveling conveyer forming the bottom o t" said trough, means to deposit dredged material in said trough and upon said conveyer, and supplementary conveying and distributing means comprising a plurality ot' overlapping conveyers of successively decreasing width to receive the material from said first named endless conveyer and from one another and eifect a side delivery ot the same throughout the length thereof.

5. In a dredging and distriluiting apparatus -and in combination, a receiving trough for dredged material having an open top and bottom, means tor delivering dredged material to said trough, an endless conveyer forming the bottom of said trough, a support for said conveyor, a pivotal connection between one end of said conveyer and said support, and a supplen'ientarjv conveying and difxtributing means comprising a plurality of endless convetvers pivotall)Y mounted relative to said conveyor to permit .said supplementary conveying and distributing means to be swung from an operative to an inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence ot two subscribing Witnesses. i

JOHN BEAM.

Witnesses:

GERTRUDE M. STUCKER, A. V. CUSHMAN.

lIO 

